The Tearoom
by eskalations
Summary: "When Varrick has an idea, he has an idea." She remarked after a moment, turning back to the kettle and squinting as she tried to make out the blurred shapes in front of her. "Varrick's mind can't wait for a time that is more convenient for me. He takes tea when he gets this excited so he has something to stimulate him further."


Whenever Bolin could find the time, he would just sit back and drink some tea.

If he had thought his life was fast paced before, than that was nothing compared to the speed Kuvira seemed to be moving them in. Every day he saw one or two different towns, nearly all easily conquered by the one referred to as "The Great Uniter." He was helping people and he could see it, but sometimes a guy just needed a break.

But he wasn't the only one who looked towards this activity for comfort.

He would sit in the tearoom, adjacent to the sleep cars provided to all that pledged themselves to Kuvira, and sip quietly while reading Opal's and Mako's letters from Republic City. Sometimes he would hear the door slide open and the sound of high heels pad against the hard floors. With how much time he spent around Varrick, he knew that sound without even glancing up.

Zhu Li would silently walk in, face stoic as always and back rigid. However whenever he saw her in the tea car, far from the eyes of Varrick and everyone else, she would allow her shoulders to fall forward in exhaustion as she looked for the right tea bag to prepare for her employer, or at least that's what he always thought she was doing.

One day, he noticed that the ingredients she added weren't the ones Varrick usually took in his tea. It caused him to chuckle, the man was naturally eccentric and always changing his mind about how he wanted things, perhaps he had changed the way he liked his tea.

"Did Varrick decide that his tea was boring all of a sudden?" Bolin asked the young assistant, his eyes watching her as she jumped in surprise. She straightened her shoulders before turning to meet his gaze straight on, her lips forming a rigid line. She muttered a simple no before leaving the car, sliding the door shut behind her.

Bolin wondered a long time after that if he had said something wrong.

When she walked into the tearoom the next day, he wanted to apologize for asking her a question about her employer when he knew that she wasn't supposed to speak of him when he wasn't present, but Zhu Li surprised him. Before he could even speak, the woman had turned her grey stare towards him.

"Varrick hasn't changed the way he takes his tea in three years," She remarked lowly, her face keeping the same stoic expression that he had come to know so well. "The tea I made yesterday was mine."

Bolin opened his mouth to speak, but clamped it down tight after a moment. Of course Zhu Li could make her own tea, why had he connected it to Varrick in the first place?

"Right," He nodded, looking back down at the metal table where a fancy letter from his girlfriend sat. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume."

Then a sound he never thought he would hear escape her, bubbled forth in the form of a breathy chuckle. The assistant held her teacup in one hand while the other covered her lips delicately.

"It's quite alright, Bolin." She said after a moment, her usual monotone absent. Her voice transformed to one that was both gentle and light, the complete opposite of what he had come to associate with Zhu Li. "When I've been around you, I tend to drink the same tea Varrick does - so you had no way of knowing. You were just trying to make conversation."

Bolin shrugged, the metal plates on the tops of his shoulders grazing the edge of his earlobes before descending back down into a more relaxed position. Zhu Li took the moment to move her spectacles back up the bridge of her nose and before he had time to respond, she had left the room with her teacup in hand.

They had many encounters like this before Zhu Li finally decided one day against leaving the room and instead sat down across from him in the metal booth.

"I don't mean to pry," She prefaced the conversation with, taking a careful sip of her tea before continuing. "But I do find myself wondering who it is that you read your letters from."

Bolin smiled brightly at the question, happy that she was finally relaxing around him.

"Some of them are from my girlfriend, Opal." He held up a piece of parchment with loopy characters drawn on to it. "I like the ones that she writes because they tend to smell like her. It makes me feel a little more at home every time I open one. The stuff she writes is cool, too – but it's the feelings that really get me every time, you know?"

Zhu Li raised a sharp brow at his question, "Uh, I'm afraid I don't."

Bolin carried on, holding up a letter that had sharper, thinner characters drawn on to it. "These are from Mako, my brother. He's a cop. He tells me about what's going on in Republic City while I'm gone. He also mentions the weather every once in awhile, which is weird, but it's Mako – I love him anyway."

That coaxed a smile out of the woman sitting across from him, "That's very sweet of you, Bolin. We move around so quickly, I'm surprised you are able to receive so many letters."

"Oh these are all from the past year." He slid one across the metal surface towards her and pointed at a date on one of Opal's letters. "Every time we would stay in a town for a couple of days, I would write home hoping that their letters would get there fast enough for me to receive them. I read them whenever I get the chance."

Zhu Li's brows furrowed at this, her mind drifting back to all the times she had seen him in the tearoom reading over his letters. Had they all been ones he had seen before?

"I know it seems boring for me to go back and read them over and over," He admitted, noting the shocked look that rested on her features. "But I love them like crazy and I miss them every day. Any chance I get to be with them, even if it's through a piece of paper, I take it."

The look on Zhu Li's face changed drastically in that moment, but Bolin couldn't quite catch what it had transformed to. She almost looked forlorn.

Without saying another word, the young woman stood and walked from the room, leaving her cooling tea behind her as she escaped Bolin's confused gaze.

The next few days they passed through more towns, distributed goods, conquered the region and then were on their merry way. Bolin didn't find time for a break until three days had passed since his last encounter with Zhu Li. He couldn't find the time to venture to the tearoom until most of the crew was tucked away in their beds, the poor boy trying hard to be quiet as he made his tea and sat down to stare at the trees passing by.

He must have fallen asleep at some point because, next thing he knew, he was being awakened by the loud clang of a spoon against porcelain. Jumping a bit from the noise, Bolin glanced around with bleary eyes at the room to find the source of the sounds. Once he realized it was just the quiet assistant again, he relaxed against the seat.

Something was different about Zhu Li this time, though. Unlike before, her shoulders were rigid and her movements were frantic as she stirred furiously at the tea she had just set to steep on the counter. Bolin noted that the ingredients she put in were those that Varrick usually took with his tea.

"He's making you fix that this late at night?" The woman must not have realized she had woken him with her frantic stirring, for she jumped at the sound of his voice. That's when Bolin noticed she was without her glasses and was clad in her night robe instead of her usual standard uniform. Varrick must have woken her up to fix him tea that he was completely capable of making himself.

"When Varrick has an idea, he has an idea." She remarked after a moment, turning back to the kettle and squinting as she tried to make out the blurred shapes in front of her. "Varrick's mind can't wait for a time that is more convenient for me. He takes tea when he gets this excited so he has something to stimulate him further."

"Zhu Li," Bolin stood to help her with the ingredients she was struggling to see, ignoring his own bleariness as he grabbed at the jar of honey she had been looking for. "I don't understand why you allow him to do this." He commented as he scooped the honey up and poured it into the kettle. "You know Varrick wouldn't fire you if you just told him no occasionally, especially when it's this late at night."

"Bolin, he's my employer." The woman muttered stoically, reverting back to the compliant assistant he was familiar with. "I do as he says because he is my boss. Just as Kuvira is your's."

She thanked him quietly before picking up the tray, her soft footfalls against the metal floors the only sound heard as she left the room. It was then that Bolin noticed she hadn't even remembered to put shoes on in her rush to please her employer.

While he knew that if Kuvira knocked on his door in the middle of the night and asked him to do something, he would probably do it – he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something well beyond that instilled in Zhu Li. He knew Kuvira would never wake him on a whim to fix her tea, but Kuvira wasn't Varrick. Every thing Varrick did in life was extravagant and inconvenient, so naturally he would expect his assistant to lead such a life as well.

Bolin just couldn't believe he had found an assistant willing to go to the lengths that Zhu Li did. Varrick must have been paying her well for her service or else she would have been out of there well before that point.

Days passed and word got around that Varrick was working on a spirit vine experiment that was said to revolutionize energy. Bolin found himself frowning as his breaks in the tearoom went uninterrupted for days as Zhu Li was working right by Varrick's side every step of the way.

When she came in to fix her tea some odd number of days later, Bolin could see by the expression on her face that she needed to talk.

He waited as she fixed her tea, her movements jerky and hand shaking as if she feared something or someone. This strange behavior from the usually composed assistant worried him greatly as he had never seen her so worked up before.

She sat down across from him and sipped on her tea while Bolin pretended to reread the letters he had been sent from the city. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but Zhu Li beat him to the punch.

Setting down her cup with a soft clank, the girl looked at him head on.

"Bolin," Her voice was steady, the complete opposite of her composure. "Can I trust you?"

"Of course!" The boy answered without a second thought. "I'm one of the quietest people I know. Any secret you have is safe with me – I mean I may tell Pabu at some point – but besides that my lips are sealed!"

Zhu Li looked worried for a moment, "Who's Pabu?"

"My fire ferret!"

The assistant released a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. "Okay, good."

Bolin waited for her to start, watching as she stirred her tea unsurely. Minutes passed by where the only sound coming from between them was that of her spoon against the side of her cup. Bolin's gaze remained open the entire time, patiently waiting for Zhu Li to get off her chest what she needed to say.

"So…" He began for her, his patience wearing thin as he gave her a hesitant smile. "What is it that you need for someone to keep secret?"

Zhu Li's lips pursed, still unsure about sharing her inner thoughts with him.

"Does this have something to do with Varrick?" At the question, the girl nodded, her lips rolled together as she remained silent.

"Did something happen?" Bolin asked hesitantly, hoping the man hadn't hurt her. She quickly shook her head, banishing his fears near instantly. With that out of the way, Bolin relaxed a bit more.

"Then what is it you want to tell me?"

Zhu Li breathed deeply before responding to his question for the first time. "I need to get your opinion on something."

"Okay!" Bolin nodded happily, hoping to keep her going. "I can do that!"

The young assistant's brow rose, uncertainty finding it's way on her features once again. "I just don't want this to pass beyond the two of us."

"- and Pabu." Bolin added on, coaxing a smile out of the assistant for the first time since she sat down.

"Right, and Pabu." Her features relaxed, eyes glued to the metal surface of the table. "I'm afraid my employer is taking advantage of me."

Bolin nodded, "Well, yeah. I think anyone would share my opinion that Varrick asks too much of you."

"I know."

"Well," Bolin's palms turned up, gesturing towards her. "If you know that than why do you let him do it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't?" Bolin asked, knowing Zhu Li well enough to know that everything she did was thought through. His question silenced her once again, her glasses sliding low on her nose as she continued to look down.

"Bolin, you know how you keep those letters just so you can reread them again?"

The boy nodded, unsure of which direction this conversation was going. Weren't they just talking about Varrick?

"Why do you want to reread them again?"

"Because I love the people that they are from."

"Then why do you think I let Varrick wake me up at any hour to make him some tea?"

"Because he's your employer."

"No, Bolin," Zhu Li shook her head, her eyes darting up to meet his own. "Think about what you just said about the letters."

"I don't think I understand."

The young assistant sighed, her gaze wandering to the trees passing by. "I don't think I do either. But that explains why I have put up with this for so long. I actually went to prison for my employer who continued to demand too much from me even behind bars."

Bolin thought back to the previous things he had said in the conversation, trying desperately to figure out what it was that Zhu Li was referring to. Letters and employers were two very different things.

But he supposed the intent behind them were the same.

He kept the letters and read them over because he loved the people that had sent them and Zhu Li kept letting Varrick boss her around because…?

Oh.

_Oh._

"You're in love with Varrick?" Bolin couldn't help the exclamation that escaped him, the words barely making sense to himself as he watched Zhu Li's head bow in near shame.

"Whoa." Bolin dropped his head into his hands, his tea forgotten as he tried to grasp what he had just figured out, "I mean – this is, wow."

"I know." Zhu Li murmured softly, her tone vulnerable as her feelings were laid out on the table before her. "I don't know how or when it happened but – "

"I'm very interested in the how." Bolin broke in, his wide eyes meeting her own. "I mean, Zhu Li – he treats you _badly_."

The woman's brows furrowed as her tone became offensive. "He has never harmed me, I would hardly call it bad. I truly don't even think he is aware of how much he takes advantage of me."

"He's a genius, of course he knows!"

Zhu Li shrugged, her mouth forming a straight line as she stared down at her cooling tea.

It had never occurred to Bolin until that moment how young Zhu Li may be. With her guard down and stoic expression replaced with one of more vulnerability, she suddenly looked more youthful than he had ever seen her before.

"How old are you, Zhu Li?"

"28."

There were quite a few years between them, but Bolin recognized the expression on her face as one he had sported many times before. She was young and in love with someone she thought she could never have.

His heart went out to her in that moment as the train continued to carry along as if the most heart shattering conversation wasn't taking place on it in that very moment.

"I just needed someone to know." She broke him from his thoughts, her voice returning to its familiar tone. "Surely, you realize I was smart enough to know that Varrick was taking advantage of my loyalty."

Bolin nodded, though he wasn't quite sure what he had thought before this conversation had unfolded.

"It's like your letters," She nodded towards the pieces of parchment laying scattered on the table. "While it does no good to read something over that you have read before, you continue to do so because of the way it makes you feel."

"But my letters don't treat me badly."

"Neither does Varrick." Zhu Li was quick to defend, her brows rising to her hairline, "But like those letters, he provides me with feelings that I would never receive from him otherwise."

"Does he not feel the same about you?"

"Bolin…" Her tone drifted off, her words implying that the thought was unthinkable.

"No, really! How do you know if you haven't told him?"

"I would lose my job."

"You don't know that." Bolin pointed out, his head tilting to this side. "What if Varrick wasn't shown love as a child so he doesn't know how to show it now. Maybe his demands are just his really weird – totally Varrick style way – of saying that he's in love with you?"

Zhu Li grimaced at the thought, knowing that certainly wasn't what his demands were born from. He could have any woman in the world, why would he even bother with her if it didn't involve waiting on him hand and foot?

"No, I don't think that's it." Zhu Li stood from the table before walking to the counter. She put the kettle on for what Bolin presumed would be Varrick's tea.

"Varrick's strange, he could work like that."

"I don't think – "

"You have to tell him! Maybe by you admitting you have feelings back, he'll have a change of heart!"

"Bolin that doesn't happen – "

"But how do you know if you don't try?"

"Bolin," The woman's voice was stern as she quieted the man mid-rant. "Drop it. If you don't want me to regret telling you, I ask that you never speak of it again."

"I'm just trying to help." He muttered dejectedly, his arms crossing over the other with his chin resting on top.

"I know." She said after a moment, her eyes glued to the counter as she reached for a spoon to stir the tea with. "But sometimes we just have to sit back and allow life to direct us down our path. I think this is one of those times."

Bolin couldn't help but disagree.


End file.
